Zapp Osaka Lounge H

Snow drifted outside the window this morning, did our Suk bring the snow from Korea to Osaka? (*^__^*) Hee hee… (I like to fantasize)

I drove to the venue at 1 pm today. Because of the snow, the highway was not accessible, so I had to make a detour past Kansai airport. It was already past 3 pm when I arrived. After parking the car, I walked over and saw many fans already there buying side products. I also bought a 3-piece set and limited edition desk calendar. Why did I not buy Lounge H T-shirt set? I felt it was too expensive and the design changes every year, but most of all it was too cold!

We assembled at 5 pm. I had just queued up at Area E when the staff started checking our tickets (they were so strict). Then I chatted with the ‘ahjumma’… (I’m talkative). The Japanese ahjumma behind me came from Tokyo, and she had also gone to the 29 Jan LH event. I asked her how she felt about that. She said the venue was full of sweet vanilla perfume (seemed like she didn’t like it) and we talked about many other things.

JANG GEUN SUK: THE ORIGINAL GOO JOON PYO?

This is basically old news but they talked about it during 'Champagne' (a variety show JGS guest starred in a few days ago) and an article came out so...

On the latest episode of KBS Shin Dong-yup and Shin Bong-sun's Champagne, it was revealed that Jang Geun Suk turned down an offer to play the rich meanie Goo Joon Pyo in the hit drama series Boys Over Flowers!

Jang Geun Suk explained that, as he was looking at potential projects, the two dramas that really caught his eye were Beethoven Virus and Boys Over Flowers. He wanted to do both but felt that Beethoven Virus had more to offer as a learning experience since many senior actors would be appearing on the show. With that in mind, he got a role in Beethoven Virus, and the role of Goo Joon Pyo eventually went to Lee Minho.

Jang Geun Suk seems to have no regrets, and said that Lee Minho portrayed the character well and that, if Jang Geun Suk had taken on the role, it might not have been as good. Perhaps Jang saw the success of Boys Over Flowers and decided to make it up by starring in You're Beautiful, another show with a large teen fan base.

Do you think Jang Geun Suk would have made a better Goo Joon Pyo? Or was Lee Minho the best choice?

dbsk in jang keun suk radio show

Jang Geun Suk in ‘Hot Chili Pepper’ Magazine – Part I

The following interview is a translated piece from the Japanese magazine Hot Chili Pepper. In this interview, he speaks frankly about his acting career. He talks about how his mom raised him – and paints a remarkable portrait of her character – and about two films that I love and am sorry he’s so disappointed with.

Q: Let us start with the drama The Reign of Women (여인천하 that you starred in during your childhood years? (Note: “The Reign of Women” is also known as “Ladies of the Palace”)

A: At that time I was 15 years old, but I was still a child actor at that time, I don’t think I can introduce myself with the particular work. I started becoming a model when I was around 6 years old and I debuted as a child actor when I appeared on television in the 1997 drama Happiness for Sale.

Q: Do you still remember the scenes during the filming?

A: In The Reign of Women, whether it was the day I wore hanbok during filming on a snowy day or the time I fell down in the village… I remember all of them, my memory is very good. I still remember, there was a scene where the young Nan Jung was carrying a jar, and I was supposed to throw a stone at the jar to break it, but because I missed, it hit the kid’s face instead.

Q: Were you afraid of the adults at the filming site?

A: Yes I was afraid of them (laughs). I cried a lot of times at the filming site. The filming site is also a part of the community, although the adults around me say that I’m cute, and treat me very kindly. On the other hand, I am a child actor – as an actor, there are certain things one cannot do. But when I was young I didn’t know that, I just played happily with the older boys because I was so excited about the props at the filming site. So when the adults scolded me, ‘How can you not read your sсript yet?’, I cried a lot of times. Since acting in Happiness for Sale, I always travel to the filming site by myself. Taking the bus and subway… my parents has never accompanied me to the filming sites, not even once.

Q: Only by yourself?

A: A child actor does not have a manager (laughs). Besides that, my mother is the type who won’t accompany me to filming sites, I’m grateful to her when she did that. Hating to ask the staff at the filming site, “Please take care of my son.”, my mother wanted me to become strong, so that no matter what problems I face, I would not just cry away only…. Of course, I did cry at the time, now I can withstand all sorts of challenges.

Jang Geun Suk in ‘Hot Chili Pepper’ Magazine – Part II

In this second part of the interview, Jang discusses his more recent roles in Hwang Jin Yi, Hong Gil Dong, Beethoven Virus, and You’re Beautiful. He even reveals his relationship with a girlfriend that influenced his acting for Hwang Jin Yi, which I think is a blessing in disguise.

I loved this interview because he was super frank, and there is definitely a flow in the questions that allowed him to discuss each drama and makes me suspect he was prepared to answer each question. Nevertheless, it was nice to read an interview that does not involve a lot of girlfriend rumors either.

In 2006, Jang Geun Suk finally met the role he was destined for and that is Hwang Jin Yi.

In Hwang Jin Yi, he acted as Ha Ji Won’s first lover Eun Ho. They adore each other, but their love ends in tragedy due to their gap in social status. At that time, South Koreans had different opinions about this role – they worry about the age gap between Geun Suk and Ji Won, and there were a lot of criticisms on his acting skills.